Pages

Thursday, April 25, 2013

The Brill Building (built 1931) as the Alan E. Lefcourt Building and designed by Victor Bark Jr. is an office building located at 1619 Broadway on 49th Street in the Manhattan borough of New York City, just north of Times Square and further uptown from the historic musical Tin Pan Alley neighborhood. It is famous for housing music industry offices and studios where some of the most popular American music tunes were written. The building has been described as "the most important generator of popular songs in the Western world......WikipediaThis building housed some of the the most prolific publishers, songwriters and producers of the times. By 1962 it is noted the Brill Building contained over a 165 music businesses on on it's premises. Musicians/Artist alike could find all that was needed to cut a deal. That is could find a publisher and printer, cut a demo, promote the record and cut a deal with radio promoters, all within this one building.Many of the greatest songwriters producers etc worked within this building Burt Bacharach and Hal David, Bert Berns, Neil Diamond, Gerry Goffin and Carole King, Marvin Hamlisch, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield and Phil Spector just to name a few.Artist who were headquartered at the Brill Building were Bobby Darin, The Drifters, Connie Francis, Lesley Gore, Ben E. King, Darlene Love, Liza Minnellie, Tony Orlando, Gene Pitney, The Ronettes, The Shangri-Las, The Shirelles, The Sweet Inspirations, Doris Troy, Frankie Valie & The four Seasons Seasons, Dee Dee Warwick and Dionne Warwick.Over a period of time the building took on what was noted as the Brill Building Sound which was somewhat inaccurate as a lot of the music came from outside the building from such places as that other important address on Broadway at 1650.

Monday, April 22, 2013

By the late 60s Atlantic Records had all but ceased to release new recordings on the Drifters and the group of the nostalgic heyday had begun to fade away into the pages of history. The next recording session on 11/8/67, had only three voices - Johnny Moore, Rick Sheppard and Bill Fredricks. December of 1967, Charles Baskerville leaves the lineup and is replaced by baritone Milton Turner who sang with Bill Fredricks in The Packard's. Guitarist Abdul Samad also leaves around this time and is replaced By Butch Mann the former guitarist for Ruby and The Romantics of the (Our Day Will Come) fame. Milton Turner leaves in 1969, and is replaced by another Charles Thomas, who later changes his name to don so as not to confuse it with the original Charlie Thomas. Both Don and Charlie were from the state of Virginia. From this point on The Drifters as a group spiraled downward. Atlantic Records had only been releasing one record a year on the group from 1967 Thur 1971, non making it to the top 100 in the charts. In 1970, the group broke up over internal problems relating to management. Bill Fredricks stayed because of closeness with management who was then Faye Treadwell wife of the late George Treadwell. Johnny, Rick and Don wanted to go it alone, but nothing came out of these plans. Rick left and became a police officer, even though he continued singing with his own review. Johnny rejoined Bill Fredricks and the management. Don Thomas also returned for a short period.1972 was to be the pivotal point or what you might call the Resurrection with the signing of the Drifters to then Bell Records through Greenway Music headed by writer and producer Roger Greenway. The lineup by this time featured Johnny Moore, Butch Leake, Bill Fredrick's and Grant Kitching's and it was this rendition of The Drifters that would propel the brand to the heights of it's former glory. There are those who try and down play the significance of the this lineup but there is no mistaking that the success of this signing brought the brand back from obscurity. Even now in 2013 the current brand of Drifter groups have yet to duplicate the success of the Bell/Arista years. Recently in 2012 the brand went gold with the release by Sony Music who now is custodian of the Bell/Arista catalog a CD titled The Drifters "Up On The Roof" the very best of... This CD sold 200,000 units but it was largely the Bell/Arista songs which carried this CD to it's gold status. It remains to be seen if the current official lineup of Drifters will duplicate the success? There are still the pros and cons of the Drifter sound and style that has to be met as far as hardcore Drifter fans who grew with the group over the years are concerned. The young generation of fans have know Idea of the significance of truly what made The Drifters what they were over the years and in my opinion current management miss the mark somewhat! maybe it's not needed we shall see. In the back round "The Drifter wars" continue as former members and the proliferation of wannabe drifter acts compete in this now cottage industry on both sides of the Atlantic. The story will continue to be recorded and written here as we move into the next decade of Drifter drama stay tuned......Butch Leake (CORNER TALK REPORT)

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions.
We are honoring many of the Greatest of legends like Mr Ellington in showbiz and beyond over at CTR Blog Journal. Log in for and informative journey.....

Friday, April 12, 2013

It might not be a home run but 42 is an inspiring tribute to and Americanbaseball legend.Written an directed by Brian Helgeland (who wrote “LA Confidential’’) 42is a reminder for those who are familiar with the period of trials and tribulationthat were endured by the first African American (Jackie Robinson) played byChadwick Boseman to enter major league baseball.Boseman is cast along side Harrison Ford who is great in this character role as gruff Brooklyn Dodgers General Manager Branch Rickey.An Idealist and smart businessman Ricky in 1945 senses an opportunity tomake history, as well as a lot of money, by tapping the huge talent pool inthe Negro Leagues during a time when racism was pervasive beyond theJim Crow south.Robinson has to deal with the taunting of his team mates being turnedaway from hotels, planes and lynch mobs and even though he showsexceptional skill during his time in the minors doesn't get him any respectwhen he finally joins the Dodgers in 1947.Several teammates sign a petition demanding his firing, and a bigoted pitcherhits him in the head with a baseball.The racial slurs are high when Phillie's Manager Ben Chapman played by (Alan Tudyk) unleashes a stream of vile unleashes a stream of vile racist epithetsat Robinson while on the mound waiting for the ball to be pitched.The film highlights other major connection in his life including Nicole Beharie as Jackie’s strong wife, Rachel; Andre Holland as Robinson's friend and chronicler sportswriter Wendell Smith; and Lucas Black as shortstop Pee Wee Reese.This is a film that has something for everyone weather you are a sport enthusiast or not, a biopic that takes in the world and people around it's subject.

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

There is know doubt we are in trying times after years now in the Afghan Iraq / war
and now we are seeing potential conflict brewing in Syria, Iran and now the latest Korea.
Much is being throw around by all sides which even at this time is having far reaching
political and economic consequences on the world as a whole.
Is it all possible to live in a world where we are not in constant threat of our neighbors
for one reason or the other.
It is all but natural for the small guy to want to join the bigger club on the block or at
least try to even the playing field.
Yet the question is at what price do we pay for such including or non inclusion
of rogue nations in the Nuclear stable of countries....
Technology advancement is something any smaller nation of people will seek to have
and in the eyes of such, anything less amounts to nothing more than being in slavery
to the bigger power. The Israel Palestine issue is a perfect example of this sort of
feeling that exist between people and will continue as long as basic human rights
that of food, shelter, clothing, education and technological advancement and the general
right to exist is denied..
Much of what we see in the world today particularly that of grievances by smaller nations of
people is the direct result of years of colonization and occupation by bigger foreign
nations. So as the old saying says you reap what you sew....
Much is now coming back to bite us where it hurts.....
There is know room for error in what ever coarse we take to quell the unrest in the family
of nation. For it could lead us down a dark road of destruction unprecedented in today's
times.

Friday, April 5, 2013

I have now expanded Corner Talk Report to bring you more information
with a new website in seeking to centralize things here on the web....
I'm in the early days of the site and will be expanding in to new topic areas
which I hope will be of interest......
You can still join us over at The Drifters Legends Clubhouse over on
Facebook or follow me and DLegends over at Twitter....

Wednesday, April 3, 2013

SYNOPSIS: A bold look into the intrigue and perils of infidelity, Tyler Perry's Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor is a moving love story that dives straight into the heart of obsessive passion. "It's about a woman Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell) who starts to get restless in her relationship and her choice to be with another man has a huge effect on the rest of her life," explains screenwriter/producer/director Tyler Perry. "She goes on a journey - in her career and in her marriage - and she ends up in a very different place than she expects/.

Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor is a drama-thriller film produced, written, and directed by Tyler Perry. The film is adapted from the play of the same name written by Perry, with several changes.

The story depicts the marital crisis of Judith (Jurnee Smollett-Bell), who works as the “in-house therapist” for an up scale therapist agency for Janice (Vanessa Williams), a high-end matchmaker. Married to her childhood sweetheart Brice (Lance Gross), a druggist whose modest dream is to someday own his own pharmacy, she finds herself increasingly unhappy over such transgressions as his forgetting her birthday two years in a row.Due to the nature of her husbands forgetfulness she become susceptible to the charms of a handsome billionaire Harley (Robbie Jones), a social-media entrepreneur negotiating a business deal with her boss (Vanessa Williams.

Harley who owns a posh up scale townhouse and a private jet manages to seduce Judith and convinces her to travel to New Orleans on a business trip.Almost immediately afterward, he reveals his true colors as an abusive womanizer and drug and alcohol abuser. Suddenly the previously cordial Judith is wearing revealing outfits, swigging champagne and snorting cocaine, much to the consternation of her husband and her mother Sarah (Ella Joyce)

Brice is consoled by Melinda (Brandy Norwood) who was once married to Harley and as this story goes was infected by HIV from his sleeping around with other woman. He later race to Harley's house to get his wife and finds her beaten up.

No matter what you say about this film it has a Tyler Perry signature all over it. For me it addresses the morality question at the heart. Though the supporting cast can be somewhat whimsical, and there to fill in the gaps! it does hold your attention and has it's moving moments.